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Food Was Plentiful in the Buffet Restaurant... - Review of Occidental Grand Aruba

Traveled to the Occidental with a group of women friends (18) celebrating the 50th birthdays for four of them. Although a little "dated" the hotel is pretty nice. Need more than one concierge for such a large hotel; restaurant managers were wonderful in accommodating our large groups to dinner at the different restaurants. Our room was kept tidy and fridge items replenished daily. Extra towels provided on request. The pool bar provided relaxation and libations! Pool aerobics daily; tiki huts on the beach a welcome relief from the blazing sun! Food was plentiful in the buffet restaurant, albeit much the same each day. Try L'Olio which served great lamb chops (Francisco); Zen for sushi. Look for the iguanas running around the rock formations! I would return, as Occidental is one of only two hotels which are all-inclusive in the area. Be sure to sign up for the free wind pontoon sailing which will take you out by the lighthouse and back within an hour.

Room Tip: Ask for a room with a pool view; otherwise you will be facing a parking lot.

What a wonderful way to relax and have fun at the same time. The beautiful white sand beach and the great pool with a pleasant pool bar staff. The food was great and the wait service is outstanding and so friendly. The island is so safe and shopping can be a lot of fun. The sun is hot so bring the sunscreen and wear a hat and you will be fine. The rooms are clean and up to date, but the employees there are what makes the place great. We will be returning again!

Stayed November 2012, traveled as a couple

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Ask Linda M about Occidental Grand Aruba

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

My wife and I were looking forward to our second trip to Aruba, not least of all because we were leaving a house with now heating or power behind (following hurricane Sandy).

We had stayed in an Occidental hotel once before in Mexico and loved it. Once again we upgraded to the Royal Club for our most recent trip.

I think it would be unfair to say we didn't have a good experience, but we were left wondering what we had gained by staying in the royal club, compared to the regular rooms. The service was good, the food was above average, the rooms were tidy and the weather was great.I just think it lacked that certain 'something'. Perhaps it just seemed a little less private than before.

The buffet in both the main hotel and the royal was as expected and the Italian and Chinese restraints were very good. The pool was nice and the location was right off the beach.

We did spend many an enjoyable morning people watching by the pool (and playing 'guess what part of Long Island they are from'). However, I have to say that the highlight of the entire trip was the snorkeling excursion on the Palm Pleasure catamaran - something we did 5 years ago on our first trip, when we stayed in a much cheaper hotel

Stayed November 2012, traveled as a couple

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Ask rnpara about Occidental Grand Aruba

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

My husband and I just returned from a week at the Occidental. Had a wonderful time. We read mixed reviews before leaving so were a little concerned.I had emailed two weeks before arriving, requesting an ocean or pool view room. Upon arrival we were a little disappointed to discover we were given a room with two double beds. (pool view) After requesting a king size bed, they offered a new room if we could wait until the next day. We then had a nice room on the third floor with a view of both the pool and the ocean. Did not have to pay to upgrade.

We did reserve dining options right away as reviews had suggested and had no problem getting the restaurants or times we wanted. We really enjoyed the Italian, Azian and the Mexican. Buffet was remarkably good for breakfast and lunches. The shows were quite good and the music in the lobby bar was excellent.

The beach was wonderful. Did have to claim our beach chairs and cover with towels by 9:00 am if we wanted better seats. Generally did this just before our breakfast and morning beach walk.

One thing to note: At night you could hear the music from the nearby clubs on the strip. Our first night on the second floor you could really hear it until 3:00 am. After we were moved to the third floor, more in the middle of the resort, you could barely hear it.

All in all, staff were friendly and helpful which made for a wonderful time.Great trip, great value. Would definitely go back.

Room Tip: Can hear the music from the clubs along the strip on the lower floors.

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Stayed November 2012, traveled as a couple

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Ask OshawaAMarie about Occidental Grand Aruba

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Very lively resort with activities offered daily. Restaurant staff was very friendly, especially Zolina our frequent host. Zolina greeted us with a huge smile every day and was very very funny! I would highly recommend this resort to anyone interested in visiting Aruba. We chose the Occidental Grand Aruba for our honeymoon and were very pleased overall.

Stayed October 2012, traveled as a couple

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Ask Joseph E about Occidental Grand Aruba

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We have been to Aruba before. This was my 2nd time. First time was a day trip stop from a cruise ship. A group of friends picked the Occidental for a birthday celebration. The hotel was easy to get to, some arrived via tour bus and some by taxi. The hotel was clean, the rooms were clean. We did have to ask to have our room mini fridge re-stocked but the room attendant was very helpful. There were 3 of us in a room and we were not crowded at all. Our room overlooked the pool and others overlooked other hotel rooftops. Well worth it to have room facing the pool. There were activities every day if you wanted to participate or just watch. The free water sports were fun: kayaks, and we loved the little wind sailboat, but you have to make a reservation for that because the DePalm Tours person takes you out on the sailboat. We had Captain David and he actually was very imformative as we sailed along the coast to the lighthouse and back, it is about 1hr round trip. The entertainment group was really good throughout the week. A favorite was the day they closed the dinner buffet and had it as an evening beach party. Don't plan on a specialty restaurant that night...go to the beach party. Special shout outs to Erwin in the lobby bar and Carlos our waiter at the Italian restaurant. We had no trouble getting reservations in those specialty restaurants. Whenever we go to a resort it seems to always be an issue getting pool or beach chairs. I went down before 7:00am and it was hard to find chairs together or to plan on a shady area. I think people keep their pool towels and sleep there, even though there is a big sign posted to not save chairs before 7:15am. That is our only negative comment. We would definitely return to the Occidental Grand Aruba!!

Stayed November 2012

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Ask 0300 about Occidental Grand Aruba

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I really enjoyed my stay at the Occidental Grand Aruba....everyone was so nice there, especially Dave and Daveline....the entertainment at night was enjoyable and the staff were fun....every night we all met up after the shows and just hung out...Mauricio was a great MC for the shows

Stayed November 2012, traveled with family

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Ask Geralyn P about Occidental Grand Aruba

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Located on the legendary island of Aruba, the Occidental Grand Aruba is an all-inclusive luxury hotel on beautiful Palm Beach. The Grand Aruba Resort features a casino, dining, bars, nightlife, water sports and elegant event space for meetings & weddings....more less

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Also Known As:

Occidental Grand Aruba Hotel Palm/Eagle Beach

Occidental Aruba

Aruba Grand Occidental

Occidental Hotel Aruba

Grand Aruba

Occidental Grand Aruba Palm - Eagle Beach

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